Panging Past's Pain
by Xagrok
Summary: Jason needs to take care of Percy after he was injured. Those aren't the only wounds that need to be tended to, however.
When Percy hears the knock on the door of cabin three, he initially doesn't even think about moving. The knocking, however, doesn't stop, and is followed by a "Percy?" shortly after.

With no energy to move, and no will to do so, either, his joints and back still aching, he groans "Come in" at the son of Jupiter. Jason opens the door slowly, as if he's not certain Percy is directly behind it, or as if he would immediately throw something at him, like knives, dirty socks, or a brick.

"Are you okay?" Jason with furrowed eyebrows, his forehead wrinkled in a frown.

Percy looks at him with half-closed eyes and opens his mouth to reassure the other, but then closes it and shakes his head. Jason raises his eyebrows in question, nodding towards the bed as if to ask whether he's permitted to sit down, and Percy shrugs. When Jason has placed himself on top of the bed, he gives something to Percy he didn't notice before: A plate with cookies and a steaming mug. Cocoa, judging by the smell. Hopefully, it also contains marshmallows.

* * *

Percy tries to sit up, but scrunches his eyes in pain and bares his teeth as pain shoots through his body. No whimper at all escapes his mouth, but Jason must have imagined it because he sets the items down on a nightstand and carefully props Percy up on pillows from the other bunks.

"Better?" Jason asks, and Percy weakly nods. Jason places his palm on top of Percy's forehead, measuring his temperature, and his hand is cool on his heated skin.

With a concerned murmur, Jason first places one of the cookies at Percy's mouth so he can nibble on them, discovering Jason added some ambrosia or nectar to them. Eating it, Percy slowly starts to feel better, at least physically. His joints don't ache quite as much anymore, and his vision sharpens - surprisingly, because things hadn't looked blurry to him -

"Thanks," he croaks, Jason gives him a faint smile and Percy thinks he also hears a faint murmur.

"What," Percy asks and coughs, nearly wincing at the pain, although Jason's immediately tensing face - a guarding expression - tells him it was noticeable, "What was that?"

Jason looks away. "So you heard that, huh? Don't worry, it's nothing to concern yourself with."

Percy takes another bite, and another, motioning for the mug and drinking in careful, but powerful sips as soon as Jason places it as his lips. The cocoa does have marshmallows, and it also seems to contain a barely tastable amount of nectar, filling not only his body with warmth, but also his soul.

Percy clears his throat again, and rasps: "What was that before? Please, tell me."

Jason looks like a kicked Golden Retriever puppy as he looks at Percy. They had been advised, as the children of the Big Three, to better keep none to as few secrets from each other as possible, and only if they were truly private and not possibly dangerous or danger-creating.

After some hesitating, Jason repeats himself, barely a whisper, but audible. "I said that I am useless."

Percy slightly tilts his head. Jason's words don't make sense, and Jason seems to notice his thoughts. "I am useless, bro… Percy. If I had been quicker, you wouldn't have been hurt. If it had been Annabeth, or Nico, or anyone else, you wouldn't be lying here."

Oh. So that's what he's talking about. Percy softly shakes his head. "Not your fault," he croaks. "Was too slow. Should've reacted faster."

Jason bites his lip - Jason's lips are quite nice to look at, Percy notices, not that Percy looks at guys that way - and looks down. Wait, were those tears in the corners of Jason's eyes?

"I am useless," he blurts, apparently no longer able to keep it to himself. "If it had been anyone else - Annabeth, Nico, Piper, even Coach Hedge or Grover - you wouldn't have been hurt. You weren't even the target, the scorpion was flying at me, and you idiot threw yourself in front of me. It should be me who is lying on this bed, or dead even. Not you. I even hurt my ankle and almost didn't carry you back fast enough."

Percy, with all the pain he's in, uses his wolf glare on Jason. When he talks, he notices it's easier to do so, as the pain slowly recedes. "Don't be stupid, bro. You don't deserve to die. You're important, and irreplaceable."

As the tears threaten to stream down Jason's face and Percy realizes what he just said, he blurts out: "Just think of Piper, man, how would she have reacted?" He can't help it.

Tears start to roll down Jason's face. "I'm not irreplaceable. They replaced me soon enough when you came to Camp Jupiter." Realization at what he said dawns on Jason's face, and the tears increase as he holds a hand in front of his face. "I… I didn't mean to say that… And I don't even blame you, Percy. Please believe me."

Percy's eyes cloud over as he bites his own lip hard. "I'm sorry," he says. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have accepted praetorship, and -"

Jason shakes his head. "Please stop," he chokes out. "You didn't do anything wrong, Percy. You and Reyna needed to keep Octavian in check. It did hurt to be just thrown away like that, but none of this was your fault. I - I couldn't even decide on whether to be Roman or not. I should have died on Ithaca with my bitterness, should have died from that sword wound -"

"Just as I should have died from that poison that was thrown at me?" Percy whispers, and Jason stops, the shock wide on his face. "So that's what you meant when you said you could understand," Percy muses.

Jason is about to stand up and leave, but Percy grips his wrist. "Please, stay," he breathes, and Jason's dams break as tears flow freely, sobs shaking his body. He takes Percy and envelops him in a bone-crushing bear hug as his body trembles.

"Sorry," Jason rasps in between tremors of his body, "I need this."

Percy answers the hug, albeit weakly. "How about you stay here, Jason? I think we need to have a long talk."

Jason nods against his shoulder, still not meeting his eyes, and breathes in slowly, inhaling the calming scent of the sea while Percy rubs his back with one hand, stroking his hair with the other.


End file.
